Lily Potter at Hogwarts
by TheUnicornsAreComing
Summary: Follow Lily Potter through the years at Hogwarts as she makes new friends, manages her brothers, deals with being the daughter of a famous man, and prepares for her future. Canon pairings


On September 1st, at 12 Grimmauld Place, Lily Potter sat on the stairs and quivered with excitement.

Today is the day, she thought, today is going to be the best day of my life.

"James, don't forget your socks!" Mrs. Potter called up the stairs, interrupting Lily's fantasies of unicorns and magic.

Thump, thump, thump went James's truck as it was dragged down the stairs by its indignant owner.

"Those are Albus's! Why do you always mix us up?" said a grumpy James. For the first time in 3 years, he had been forced to pack his own trunk and not rely on Mrs. Potter to do it for him.

Mrs. Potter gave her fourteen-year-old son a stern look, then turned around and tucked the socks into Albus's truck, which was waiting by the stairs.

As he passed Lily, James said, grunting from the weight of his truck, "Hogwarts is lots of fun, Lils, just watch out for the giant squid." Pausing from his labor, he continued. "Sometimes, when the first-years are in the boats, it likes to occasionally grab one, and pull them to the bottom of the lake! Although," he added, his tone conversational, "it does seem to have a preference for redheads..."

Lily just rolled her eyes; she had already heard all his wild stories about Hogwarts. Unfortunately, Mrs. Potter didn't notice her lack of emotion to his story.

"James! How many times have I told you? Do not tell your younger siblings lies about school! You will give your sister nightmares!"

"I'm not scared," Lily protested. "I'm eleven now," she added proudly.

"Ooh that's right! You're just a puny first-year! Those seventh years will trample you in the halls!"

"James!"

Lily jumped up from her spot on the second landing of the stairs and wandered through the hall, trying to make time go faster. She had heard of a time when 12 Grimmauld Place was a dark and dismal house, but now it practically radiated life and light. Walls had been painted, sculptures and paintings removed, and light streamed in through many crystal windows.

However, there were some places that were off-limits to the Potter children. One of them being a small area near the front door covered in thick Spell-O-Tape. Upon further inspection, one would see the tiniest corner of a curtain peeking out from under the wrappings.

Another was a spot in the long walk where the portrait of Phineas Nigellus stood. Avoiding him was more out of personal preference, as he often gave very long, boring pep talks about the many perks of being in Slytherin house. At first James, Albus, and Lily were fascinated by former-headmaster, but after a few months of listening to his high, reedy voice they soon found themselves dodging the long walk.

"Would Miss like some eggs before her departure?" A small, croaky voice came from below Lily.

"No thank you, Kreacher." Lily answered sweetly. Kreacher had been the Potter family's house elf for as long as Lily could remember, and he was an odd thing. Although his bat-like ears and the strange locket that always hung from his neck were peculiar, he was usually quite sweet and always served the family faithfully.

Kreacher bowed and wandered off.

Lily skipped down the hall a little further and poked her head into Albus's room.

"Hey, Al." She said to her thirteen-year-old brother, who was shoving textbooks into his trunk.

"Hey Lils! Are you excited?"

"Yes!" She breathed. "I can't wait to explore the Room of Requirement and the Forbidden Forest and see Hagrid and Neville and get sorted!"

Albus raised an eyebrow. "You aren't at all nervous for the Sorting?"

"No, should I be?"

"I guess not. Believe me, I was a ball of nerves. But it all worked out alright." Albus shut his trunk and locked it.

"Tell me again about the Quidditch team," Lily suddenly demanded.

"C'mon, again?" But Lily gave him a pleading look, so Albus obliged. "Well, we should be pretty good this year. Last year Ravenclaw won the cup, but we won the year before that so we have a chance at winning this year. But look, a first year making the team only happened once, and we both know who that was, so relax. James barely made the team last year, and that's only because one of the Gryffindor Beators developed a severe stomach disease after eating a plate of doxy droppings on a dare."

"Are you going to try out this year?"

"I don't know, Lils, I doubt I'd make the team. Hemmington has a pretty high standard for players."

"But you're a great seeker. And Hemmington's your best friend's brother, of course he'll give you a spot!"

"Actually, everyone wants to be a seeker these days. There is so much competition for that spot. I think Dad started a trend. Anyway, Stanley O'Patrick's been the Seeker for three years. I'm not likely to take his spot away from him."

Lily grinned micheivously. "Then maybe you'll have to slip doxy droppings into his food and make sure he develops a severe stomach disease."

Albus gave her a look that was both amused and concerned. "I can see I'll have to keep an eye on you this year." He smiled and gestured towards his truck. "Hey, will you help me carry this down the stairs?"

Lily frowned. "Are you sure you're not forgetting anything?"

"What would I forget?" Albus scratched his head.

"I don't know," Lily stood up and took a look around the room. "Maybe the robes you left right there on your bed, or the eagle feather quills over there on your desk, or the Charms essay that was assigned over the summer, which, by the looks of it, you haven't even finished, or maybe-"

"Thank you, Miss Know-It-All." said Albus, sounding slightly annoyed as he unlocked his trunk and began to cram more items into it.

"Hurry up, everyone, it's time to go!" Mr. Potter's voice rang from down the hall.

Albus swore and started randomly throwing items from around his room into his open trunk.

"Are you sure you really need those Muggle car magazines?" Lily asked skepticly, trying to suppress laughter at the sight of her older brother frantically dashing around his room.

"If I pack everything, than I can't forget anything, can I?" Albus justified, throwing a pair of socks into the open trunk. "Now if you don't mind, I need to focus."

Lily shook her head and wandered back towards the kitchen. In a few minutes they would be on their way!


End file.
